Cut in Stone, Don't Stand Alone
by Settiai
Summary: Even the strongest friendships have to start somewhere. :: Danny Rand & Luke Cage


Not for the first time, Luke Cage wondered what the hell he was doing.

He glanced over his shoulder, taking a look at the man who was trailing behind him by at least a foot or two. Danny Rand was looking upwards, staring at the darkening sky, though Luke had no idea why. It's not like he could see any stars up there, not in the middle of the city.

Danny stretched, popping his neck lightly. Luke quickly turned his head back around before Danny noticed that he was being stared at.

They had been working together for a month or so already, yet Luke still barely knew his new partner. It- didn't feel right, for them to still be all but strangers. Luke hadn't even known it was the kid's birthday, not until Misty Knight had shown up at his door the night before and informed him that he better be planning something.

The _or else_ she had added hadn't really been needed. From what Luke knew about Misty, though, she didn't like leaving things unstated. Especially threats.

"So, Luke, where exactly are we going?" Danny asked for the fourth time since Luke had knocked on his door. It had been a good five minutes since the last time, at least.

Luke shot him a look. "Somewhere."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Look, it's not like I don't trust you-" He paused, a slightly sheepish look on his face.

Luke looked away.

And, yeah, that was the issue. Danny didn't trust him, not completely. Not yet. Hell, Luke couldn't blame him. He didn't trust the kid fully either.

"A little bird told me it's your birthday," Luke said, not looking back at Danny. He could hear him a few feet behind, shuffling his feet slightly as he walked. "Twenty-one, so I here."

Danny chuckled. "A little bird, huh?" he asked, sounding amused. "I wonder what Misty's going to think when I tell her that you called her-"

He trailed off abruptly when Luke turned and gave him a warning look. Danny was still grinning, the earlier tension gone from him face.

There was silence for a few seconds as Luke turned back around. Then Danny cleared his throat.

"So- where _are_ we going?"

Luke grinned despite himself. "Think about it, kid. I'm sure it will come to you."

* * *

Danny gave the glass he was holding a skeptical look. "What exactly is it that I'm about to drink?"

"Trust me," Luke said, not even trying to hide his grin. "You don't want to know."

"That's reassuring," Danny said dryly. He shot his drink another wary look. "How do I know you're not trying to kill me again?"

Luke rolled his eyes and downed his own drink. It burned on the way down, and it took a lot of restraint not to grimace. He met Danny's gaze and shrugged. "If I was trying to kill you, I wouldn't have warned you not to order the house special."

Danny eyed him just as warily as he'd been eyeing his drink.

Luke placed the empty glass back on the table. "Drink up."

"Why do I think I'm going to regret this?" Danny muttered. He breathed deeply a few times, turning his attention back toward the glass in his hand. Then, closing his eyes, he gulped it down.

Five seconds later, Danny was in the middle of a coughing fit.

Luke swatted Danny on the back a few times, careful not to hit too hard. After a few seconds, the coughing fit subsided.

"You're trying to poison me, aren't you?" Danny sputtered, his voice hoarse. There was still a hint of a smile on his face, despite his words. "It's your secret, evil plot."

"Trust me," Luke said, smirking, "if I was trying to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Danny's smile faded.

Luke's grin faded, his expression changing to apologetic. "That sounded better in my head," he said ruefully. "Sorry, kid."

"Do you have to call me that?" Danny asked, frowning.

Luke stared at him, quirking his eyebrows. He didn't say anything.

Danny stared back, tilting his head a little. "What?"

"It's your twenty-first birthday," Luke pointed out.

Danny nodded. "Yes?"

Luke crossed his arms in front of him. "It's your _twenty-first_ birthday," he repeated.

It took a few seconds, but comprehension finally dawned on Danny's face. He rolled his eyes. "Kid it is then," he grumbled. Then he held up a finger. "For now."

Still, Danny's frown was gone, and there was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth that looked to Luke like it wanted to be a smile.

Luke had to admit, Danny could hold his liquor. He wasn't sober by any definition of the word, but considering what he'd had to drink so far the fact that he was even conscious anymore was something to be admired.

Danny swayed a bit in his chair, grinning broadly at Luke when he reached out to steady him. "Luke!" he exclaimed, taking his steadying hand as an invitation to lean against Luke's side. "Another round?"

Luke studied him for a moment. Danny's face was flushed, and his eyes were a little brighter than usual. He looked more relaxed than Luke had seen him, well, ever.

Danny's hand, which had been loosely resting on Luke's back as he leaned against him, suddenly slipped a little lower. Then it moved down a little more and started to slip under the belt of his pants.

Shaking his head more in exasperation than anything else, Luke reached behind him and pulled Danny's hand away from his clothes. "What do you think?" he asked dryly.

Blinking slightly, Danny watched as Luke pushed his hand down on the table in front of them before letting go. "I'm going to take that as a 'no,'" he said slowly. He didn't sound surprised.

Luke hesitated. There was something in Danny's voice that he couldn't quite figure out, but it sounded almost- well, Luke knew what it almost sounded like. "Not 'no,'" Luke said slowly. "Just- not now. We're still strangers, kid."

Danny's eyes were unusually shrewd as he looked at Luke. Maybe the kid wasn't quite as on the far side of sober as Luke had thought. "I thought we were partners."

"We are," Luke agreed, nodding. "Doesn't make us any less strangers."

They stared at each other, both of them really looking at the other for the first time since they had officially became partners. Danny tilted his head, almost like a bird. Luke just stared straight ahead, his eyes narrowed a little in concentration.

The two of them were still staring at each other twenty seconds later, when the four armed robbers crashed through the door.

* * *

Luke ducked as the last of the robbers tried to break a chair over his head. He grabbed the chair before it could come down, yanking it out of the man's hands in one swift movement. The robber gaped at him . . .

. . . then the man crumpled to the floor, seemingly unconscious. Danny was standing behind him, only slightly unsteady on his feet. He flexed his hand a few times, shaking his head. Then he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Sweet Christmas," Luke muttered, shaking his head. "Who's stupid enough to try to rob a bar in this part of town?"

Danny poked at the unconscious man with his foot. Then he looked at Luke and shrugged, smiling a little. "These guys, apparently."

Luke's mouth twitched, and he opened his mouth to respond. Before he could say anything, Danny let out a startled yelp and fell backward as one of his legs was pulled out from under him. His head hit the table behind him with a loud crack, and he didn't move once he hit the floor.

"Danny!"

The not-so-unconscious robber had already let go of Danny's ankle, his hand reaching inside his jacket to pull out a gun as he scrambled to his feet. He aimed it at Luke, his eyes flashing. "I don't know who the hell the two of you are," the man growled, "but you picked the wrong day to play heroes."

Luke didn't even flinch as the bullets hit him in the chest. He just glanced down at his shirt and shook his head before looking back up. "Damn. I liked this shirt."

The gun slipped from the man's hand, harmlessly hitting the floor. "That's impossible!" the robber said, his eyes wide. He had gone pale.

"Say goodnight," Luke said, narrowing his eyes.

The man didn't even have time to blink before he crumpled back to the floor. This time, there was no doubt that he was unconscious.

"Idiots," Luke grumbled.

Luke moved his gaze a few feet farther away, frowning a little when he saw that Danny still wasn't moving. He walked over, kneeling beside his partner and running his hand over Danny's head as gently as possible. There wasn't any blood, at least, but there was a nice-sized knot on the back of Danny's head that was probably going to feel worse than any hangover he might have had in the morning.

Danny stirred at his touch.

"Come on, Danny," Luke said, shaking the other man as lightly as he could. "Time to wake up."

Danny groaned, the sound barely audible.

Luke shook him a little harder. "You heard me, kid," he said. "Open your eyes."

It took another few seconds, but Danny slowly pried his eyes open. "Luke?" he asked, blinking several times. His voice sounded confused. "What-?"

"How many fingers?" Luke asked, holding up four fingers.

Danny rolled his eyes, closing them a moment later and groaning. "Yeah, that wasn't smart."

Luke frowned; then he put two fingers down, leaving only two up. "Open your eyes and answer the question."

"It's two fingers," Danny said, not opening his eyes.

Luke glanced at his fingers. "Smartass," he muttered, closing his hand into a fist. "Come on, kid, open your eyes."

Danny groaned, but after a few seconds he tentatively re-opened them. "What happened?" he repeated.

"You didn't do a good enough job of knocking out that last robber," Luke said, trying to smirk like it was no big deal. He doubted he managed it. "He grabbed your feet out from under you, sent you flying headfirst into a table. What happened to those lightning fast reflexes of yours?"

"Well, that explains the headache," Danny said, ignoring Luke's slightly teasing question. He gingerly reached up to touch the back of his head. Then he hissed.

Luke sigh. "Come on," he said, offering Danny his hand. "As hard as your head is, I think the table won this time. We better get you checked out."

Danny wobbled a bit as Luke pulled him to his feet, leaning against Luke's side in an attempt to stay upright. "What about the bar?"

"What about it?" Luke asked.

"Well, look at it." Danny tried to wave an arm, gesturing around the room, but it almost sent him sprawling back to the floor. He grinned sheepishly as Luke tightened his grip on Danny's shoulders in order to keep him from falling. "It's kind of a mess."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Ronny knows where I live," he said. "Once he's done cowering in the backroom, he'll send us a bill for the damages."

Danny started to nod, but he stopped mid-motion and grimaced again. "Sounds good."

"Think you can walk?" Luke asked, eyeing him skeptically.

Danny raised his eyebrows. He grimaced as he did it, but still. Luke could take a hint.

Shaking his head, Luke slowly started toward the door. He was careful not to walk too fast, trying to keep Danny from stumbling any more than he already was.

"Hey, Luke," Danny said suddenly. He sounded almost hesitant. "Thanks."

Luke's mouth twitched. "For what?"

Danny moved his shoulders in a motion that was probably supposed to be a shrug. "If nothing else, it's a birthday I won't forget."

Luke snorted. "Depends on how bad the concussion is."

There was a momentary pause, and then Danny snorted. It quickly changed into a groan. "Don't make me laugh."

Luke grinned.

There was another few seconds of silence. Then Danny cleared his throat. "Really, Luke," he said quietly. "Thanks."

His mouth twitching again, trying its best to turn into a full-blown smile, Luke squeezed Danny's shoulder just a tiny bit. "Hey, we're partners."


End file.
